Plant for electroplating metal



F. KIRSCHNER' PLANT Eon ELEc'rRopA'rme METAL -Urigivrxal Filed Aug 24, 1921v Feux KmscHNnR .N'veNToR Smm K rn a@ a eraf:

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@riginal application nled August 2a, 1981, eriai Hc. 494,870. :Dividedv and this application tiled November al, 1922. Serial No. 602,443.

To 'all whom zt may concern:

Be it known that l, FELIX KIRSGHNER subject of Switzerland, residing at Vienna, XVH., Hernalsergurtel 1, Austria, have ini vented certain new and useful Improvements in Plants for Electroplating Metal, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to applant for coatling metal, more more readily fusi le metal such as tin, by

articularly iron, with a The object of this invention is to provide a'plant designed to perform the operations* above mentioned in a commercially satisfactory manner with the minimum ofexpenditure of material, time and labour.

With this object in view this invention consists of a plant comprising apparatus for erforming the various operations preferablly in succession and continuously in proper order under the most favorable conitions.

In the drawing, by way of example a4 plant embodying this` vinvention .is y illustrated, which is more particularly designed for manufacturing tin plate by the process above referred to.

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatical view of the plant, Figs. 2 and 3 show details.

a: indicates the materi' l to be coated'which in the example chosen consists of len hs of sheet iron. It may consistA either'o an endless band or of `lengths connected b joints w so as to form an endless ban As shown in the drawing, this'band is led from a supply table 1 or a roller or the like, and is continuously fed by suitable feeding devices to the various parts of the plants in succession and, when finished, wound upon a winding drum or roller 20. Thel apparatus comprising the plant is arranged as follows;

2 is a pair or set of pressure rollers serving partly .for feeding the band forwardv and partly for vpressing out or smoothing down the joints m between the consecutive lengths or sheets.- 3 is an apparatus of a construction adapted for lremoving any fatty matter from the band, which ma 'be kept filled for instance with milk or ime or lime water inthe'wellf known manner.` 4e is a rinsing apparatus which by the action of water frees the band from any impurities remaining after the removal of fatty matter. 5 is an electric pickling a paratus in which in well known manner t e bandv is thoroughly pickled b means of a pickling bath through whic an electric current is passed. In order to make the band suitable for electroplating, there may be interposed between the pickling bath 5 and the electroplating cell 6 yfurther apparatus (not shown in the drawings) well known for removing fatty matter, for rinsing brushing and again rinsing the band m,

by which means the cleaning of the band is completed. 6 is the electroplating bath. The details of the electric pickling apparatus andv of the electroplating bath and more particularly the arran ement of their circuits and method of couphng up are-hereinafter described-' 7 is an elastic pair of v rollers by which the excess of li luid adhering to the lband at this stage of t e process is removed. .8, 8 is an atomizer, oper'y ated by air under pressure, by vwhich an adhesion iiuxis sprayed upon the to and underside of the band in a, finely subdlvided state. 9 is a set of two pairs of rollers -which are preferably. covered with-fabric.

These'rollers revolve slowly'v in the -direction indicatedv in Fig. land have fortheir object to distribute evenly the layer of ad- ,hesion iiux sprayed upon the band and to -remove any local excess ofthe adhesion iiux. 10,11, 12 are guide rollersby which the band is caused to run obliquely Afirst upwards and then downwards in a part of its continuous movement` for a purpose to be hereinafter explained. 13 is a fusin or hot air furnace the construction of w 'ch is fully described below, which serves for fusing on the electrolytically deposited coating metal. nthis furnace' accordingly the coating metal deposited on the :metall strip by electrolysis iscaused to fuse in the presence of the adhesion ilu-x, which in the meanwhile has dried on the band. Any other fusing appar atus, for instance an electric one, may be Substitute@ fol' the fuma@ 13. 14 is a bath of water or aqueous solutions, iniwhich the band is thoroughly treated, preferably while stillv warm, for a purose to be explained below and simultaneousy cooled. 15 is a cleaning# apparatus the construction of which is hereinafter described. 16 is a rinsing apparatus of well known form. 17 are elastic rollers for removing water. 18 1s a drying oven provided with a heating device 1S and a draught pipe 18 in which drying discs 18 of some suitable fabric may be provided. 19 is a wiping or drying device, by which the lustre of the coating fused on to the ground metal is completed, the last impurities stillV remaining on the bright coatin being removed by this device. 20 is a ro ler on which the band may be'wound; for this may be substituted an apparatus for cutting :the finished band into sheets.

rlhe details of construction of the various apparatus and the arrangement of the electric circuit are the following: c

The electric pickling apparatus consists of a lead trough 30 with a lead plate 31 disposed therein and supported by wooden bars 32 running across the trough. To facilitate increasing or reducing the pickling action at will it is preferable to make the parts 30, 31 serving as cathodes adjustable. rll`he same object may bey attained by making the feed and guide rollers 33 for theband to be treated in the pickling trough vertically adjustable relatively to the band.

rlhe band runs between the lead plate 31 and the bottom of the trough 30 over rollers 33. The trough is filled with any known picklin agent such for instance as dilute (10%) ydrochloric or sulphuric acid. For heating the pickling liquid the trough may be provided with a suitable heating device 35.

The electroplating cell consists of a trough 40 having suspended in it electrode plates 41, 42 which in the example selected consist of tin. rfhe band runs between the electrodes over rollers 44. The trough is ke t filled with any known or suitable stanniferous electrolyte suitable for tinningl purposes, and of basic neutral or acid character. Forjheating the electrolyte suitable heating devices 46 may be provided in the trough. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the electric pickling apparatus and the electroplating apparatus 6 are supplied with current from a source of electricity 47 common to both of them, the circuit arrangements being such that the band m while passing' through the pickling bath forms the positive electrode and while passing through the electro-plat# ing bath forms the negative electrode.

This result may bearrived at in different ways, for example in the arrangement shown in Fig. 2 by connecting the trough 30 and the anode 31 to the negative terminal of the init/,ero

41, 41 of the electro-plating bath to the positive terminal of the source of electricity 47, or in the arrangement shown in Fig. 3 by connecting the trough 30 and the anode 31 ofy the electric pickling apparatus to the negative terminal of a source of electricity 50 and the tin electrodes of the electroplating apparatus to the positive terminal of an other source of electricity 51, both sources of electricity being connected with each other (in series) b a wire 53 as shown in Fim 3, which ma es electrical connection with thev band ai by a wire 54 between the pickling trough and the electro-plating bath. Y

nozzle of any suitable construction, by means of whichliquids containing substances capable of acting as fluxes may be finely sprayed onto the band.

For the atomizer there may be substituted any device which allows the band to be supplied with adhesien flux and the quantity and the distribution thereof to be nicely controlled.A Applying the adhesion flux in the form of a fine powder by brushing and subsequently uniformly distributing the same by the rafting or wiping devices 9 has been found by experiment to be particularly adn vantageous.

'llhe fusing or hot air furnace 13 consists of a chamber provided with a window 60 for inspection purposes and there are slits 61, 62 provided in the sides of the furnace which fit closely to the band as it passes through. The furnace has a number of heating devices 63 one of which is arranged lsource of electricity 47 and the tin electrodes as near as possible to the exit opening 62 for the band. The other heating devices can be distributed separately or in groups about the furnaceV as required to suit the character of the metal passing through the furnace and the metal coating that has been applied thereto. At the top of the furnace is provided a draw-olf pipe 64. lln the furnace the galvanically deposited coating on the -metal is fused by the hot air. lln the arrangement shown in the drawing the bath 14 is arranged close up to the heating furnace in order to enable the water treatment of the metal to follow immediately upon the fusing process: rlihe effect of this is in the passes out of the furnace is immediately cooled on leavin the furnace and is freed of any residueleft from the adhesion flux. The bath consists of apan to which cold liquid (for example water acidulated with hydrochloric acid) is led by a pipe 70; the overflowing of the bath 14, is prevented by the provision of one or vmore overow pipes 71.

The cleansing device comprises a casing 15 to which are supplied through a pi e 15 Weak basic solutions for example chal and water or mixtures of chalk and water and lime water. The solution flows oi by the ipe 15". Within the casing are arranged iscs 15 composed of textile material.

The' object of the cleansing apparatus is only to free the metal from any residue from the adhesion flux which may e still adhering thereto and to ensure that it be dried by quite simple'drying means such as the apparatus 18.

I claim: 1.v A plant for electroplating metal comprising an electroplating cell, means for applying an adhesion iuxto the'electrolyti: cally de osited coating, means Ifor fusin said coating on to ythe metalby aid of thea hesion flux and means enabling the molten coating to cool While setting 2. In a plant for electrop ating metal, the

.combination with the elements claimed in yclaim 1 of means for finely distributing the adhesion flux on to the surface of the electrolytically deposited coating.

3. A plant for electroplating metal comprising an electroplating cell means for apcombination with the elements claimed in claim 3, of means for conducting cooling fluid to and from the water bath.

5. A plant for electroplating metal comprising an electroplatin cell, means for ap- Flying an adhesion ux to the electroytica ly deposited coating means for fusing said coating on to the metal by aid of the yadhesion ux and a water bath so closely juxtaposed to the' fusing means lthat the coating after having been molten is quickly changed from the molten condition to the set condition.

6. In a plant for electroplating metal the combination with the elements claimed in claim 3, of means for gluiding the metal into the water cooling bat in inclined relation to the level of the water bath.

7. A plant for electroplatin metal comprising an electroplating c'e ,-atomizing means for applying an adhesion ux in finely divided condition on to the surface of the electrolytically deposited'coating, means for fusing said coating on to the metal and cooling means enabling the molten coating to cool While setting.

FELIX KIRSCHNER. Witnesses:

CARL NOUDENBURY ALEXANDER SoNN. 

